Life's Lessons
by Irique
Summary: Narcissa finds out that Lucius is a Death Eater. A series of unpleasant events follow. [ Lucius x Narcissa ]
1. Lesson One: Trust

A/N: Not mine. None of it.

**Life's Lessons****, 1973**

**Lesson One: Trust**

Lucius was late. Narcissa had been pacing the hallway for an hour an a half now. She'd arrived home from Hogwarts for the very last time, and she'd been certain that Lucius would be waiting at the station for her. He wasn't, and oddly enough neither was Bella. Narcissa was suspicious, but the anger she felt right now was overriding all other emotions. They were supposed to be celebrating, but instead he was gallivanting around Britain somewhere.

She was going to give him what for when he got back. She wasn't going to be distracted by how handsome he was, or how good he smelled, or how smooth he talked. She was not going to be distracted.

A loud pop from the sitting room heralded the return of Bellatrix. Narcissa rushed into the sitting room. She was disappointed to discover that Bella was alone. Her sister quickly hid a white object behind her back.

"Oh, hi Cissy."

"Where's Lucius?" Narcissa demanded. She could tell from the look on Bella's face that she knew something.

"I don't know. I haven't-"

A stony look from Narcissa silenced Bella for a second. Bella had never seen her little sister looking like this. The air positively crackled with rage.

"Oh fine. He'll be here soon. He just had to change."

"What do you-" Narcissa stopped abruptly in her tracks. She hadn't connected the white object to where they'd been until that second.

"How long?" she asked softly, eyes cast downwards.

"Just after he grad-"

"No. You," Narcissa cut off Bella again.

"Oh. A couple weeks."

"Why?"

Bella sighed.

"You know I was never going to be the pretty little trophy wife. Tat suits you, but it was never going to be like that. I was never good at all that girly stuff. I have to fight for what I believe in."

Narcissa nodded slowly. It made sense and somewhere in her mind, she'd always known it, but she hadn't expected to be confronted with it.

A second pop announced the arrival of Lucius. Bella used Narcissa's momentary distraction to escape, shooting Lucius a sympathetic glance as she sped out of the room. Lucius noticed the look on both Bella's and Narcissa's faces, and fixed his fiancée with his most charming smile.

"Now, Cissy," he started, walking towards her like one would approach a wary animal.

"Don't you Cissy me, Lucius," Narcissa snapped, fixing him with an icy glare. "I can't believe you would do something like this."

All the unexplained absences and speedy departures in the middle of lunch suddenly made sense. For a while, Narcissa had thought Lucius was cheating on her. It hadn't taken her long to squash that theory. Malfoy men were many things, but unfaithful was not one of them.

There were always rumours floating around that Malfoy women were abused physically and mentally. It just wasn't the case. A girl had not been born into the Malfoy family in over two centuries which just made them appreciate their wives even more.

Narcissa was determined to change that, and bring a daughter into the world. Right now, however, children were the last thing on Narcissa's mind.

"Look, Ciss, I'm sorry, but I had to do this! You're just going to have to get used to it."

"I don't care that you're doing it, Lucius! I care that you didn't have the decency to tell me! I'm your fiancée, for Christ's sake!"

"When do you propose that I should have told you? Hogsmeade isn't exactly a secure location."

It took all of Narcissa's self control not to slap him at that point.

"Don't give me that, Lucius. You had Christmas! You had last years holidays! And don't even think of telling me you didn't want to ruin Christmas!"

"But it's true! I didn't," Lucius protested, trying to regain some ground in this battle. It wasn't very successful. Narcissa went very quiet for a few minutes.

"Ciss?" Lucius ventured, stepping towards her again.

"Get out!" she screamed at him.

Lucius didn't have to be told twice. He Disapparated quickly. Narcissa burst into tears.

Bellatrix re-entered the room, took one look at Narcissa, and beckoned her. Narcissa ran straight into her sister's arms.

"I've never fought with him before, Bell. I don't want to fight with him, but I don't want him to keep secrets from me either."

Bellatrix stroked her sister's hair, as she led her upstairs.

"We'll run you a nice bath, okay?"

Narcissa nodded.


	2. Lesson Two: Blood

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to J K Rowling. Not me.

A/N: So we have the first foray into Narcissa's darker side here. Chronologically, it's not her first evil moment, but it's the first written. More shall follow! Anyway, stay tuned for the last part of the story.

**LIFE'S LESSONS - 1973**

**LESSON TWO: BLOOD**

Muggles were such quaint creatures, Narcissa had decided. They'd barely stood in the line for a moment, when the large man guarding the door had spotted them, and let them straight through. Bella had called him a bouncer. Narcissa had no idea what that meant, but she liked him. She hadn't been particularly keen on waiting in line just so she could dance and get extremely drunk.

Bella had decided that Cissy needed a break from the Black house, and from her fiancé. Bella wasn't sure how Narcissa could put up with Lucius. Bella couldn't bear to be in a room with him for more than a couple minutes before she was ready to kill him. She did notice how much in love the pair was, though it was no surprise. She'd been convinced they would wed since the tender age of twelve, when she'd witnessed him chase her around with his beloved snake cane.

"Bella?"

Narcissa's voice pierced Bella's thoughts.

"This kind gentleman would like to buy us a drink," Narcissa informed her sister with a smirk, gesturing to the young man standing next to Narcissa, "what would you like?"

"Long Island Iced Tea," Bella replied automatically. It was the most alcoholic drink she could think of, and she did love exploiting the men that tried to crack onto her.

"Make that two," Narcissa said, turning back to her new friend.

Bella observed the young man try and engage her sister in more conversation, but Narcissa now seemed uninterested. She snatched the two drinks off the bar, handed one to Bella, and waved goodbye to her friend.

"Bye! Thanks for the drinks!" she called out, cheerily, before disappearing into the crowd with Bella.

Narcissa could remember a time when the Black sisters used to do this all the time. It was so much easier in muggle nightclubs. In wizarding clubs, everyone knew who they were, and it wasn't easy. Here, a Confundus charm was all it took to get in, and no one was the wiser.

"Having fun yet, Cissy?" Bella enquired, setting the now empty glass down on a bench. She liked drinking fast. Mostly because it hit you faster, but she hated carrying glasses around with her just because they still had alcohol in them.

"Not yet, but I'm getting there," she replied, sculling the last of her drink, and placing the glass delicately on the bench, before dragging her sister out onto the dancefloor. Men seemed to materialise out of no where, as Bella and Cissa danced with each other. They lapped up the attention, as they danced, seeming not to have a care in the world. Drinks kept appearing for them, and they took them greedily, sculling and discarding them, as if they were drinking water.

The number of men around them dwindled as Narcissa and Bellatrix picked out their favourites and began dancing with them exclusively. And so there were four men, keeping Narcissa and Bellatrix to themselves. The men didn't seem to mind sharing as it would seem, as the girls ended up kissing both men dancing with them.

It didn't matter. Even though Bella was married, Rod didn't have any problems with Bella kissing other men. As long as it was only kissing.

Lucius, on the other hand, preferred to keep Narcissa all to himself. This was why Narcissa wasn't going to tell him. She was positive that he'd kissed other women, so why shouldn't she be afforded the same luxury?

By now, Narcissa and Bellatrix were happily drunk, and having a marvellous time. Until a rather angry woman grabbed Narcissa's hair, and pulled her out from between the two men.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you slut?" the woman screamed at Narcissa, still pulling on her hair.

"Get your hands off me, you stupid bitch!" Narcissa shrieked back at the woman, clawing at her hands.

The woman let go of Narcissa's hair, as Narcissa's nails began to draw blood. Narcissa righted herself, and began to launch another tirade into the woman.

"What the hell is your problem?" Narcissa yelled at the other woman, giving her a shove. She wasn't going to back down. No one pulled her hair, and got away with it.

"Keep your fucking hands off my boyfriend!" the woman warned Narcissa, who turned to look at the men she'd been dancing with. One of them had, quite smartly, disappeared. Narcissa figured that must have been the boyfriend. The woman gave Narcissa a shove back.

"Your boyfriend was the one dancing with me, you silly tart. Maybe you should keep a better eye on him then? So he doesn't go off looking for a better looking girlfriend," Narcissa replied, crossing her arms over her crest.

"Maybe if you weren't such a whore, he wouldn't have started dancing with you. What were you going to do next? Fuck him right here?" the woman's voice was getting louder again. She looked as though she was either about to burst into tears, or kill Narcissa. Apparently, killing Narcissa was the way she was leaning.

She launched herself at Narcissa, knocking her to the ground, laying punches into her. Suddenly, the woman was lifted off Narcissa, by the big burly bouncer that had let them in, and escorted out of the nightclub.

He came back while Bella was helping Narcissa up.

"I'm sorry ladies, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave as well. We can't have that sort of thing in here," he said, in a deep booming voice.

They nodded, leaving quietly. That was definitely enough excitement for one night.

"Where were you Bell?" Narcissa asked, wincing as she touched her eye. That was going to hurt tomorrow. She couldn't describe the anger she felt right now. She felt as though she could really hurt someone right now, if they rubbed her the wrong way.

"I was dancing," Bella replied with a shrug, and a grin. "You looked like you were handling yourself alright. I didn't see any reason to step in."

Narcissa rolled her eyes, as they rounded a corner. Narcissa stopped dead in her tracks. Bella looked quizzically at her sister, before following her gaze. The woman from the nightclub was just up ahead. She was staggering all over the place. Narcissa suddenly strode after her, quickly.

"Ciss!" Bella called out, but Narcissa didn't stop. She may have even started walking faster. Bella didn't want to follow her sister, but knew she had to. It surprised her greatly to see Narcissa put an arm around the woman's shoulders. Bella's surprise quickly turned to dismay when she saw them turn into an alley.

She wanted to run, but knew she couldn't. Whatever unmentionable things her little sister was doing to that woman, running would only draw attention to it.

It seemed to take forever for Bella to get to the alley. She didn't like the sight that greeted her. Narcissa was standing over the woman, frozen, as she gazed down onto the body. The woman was dead.

Narcissa seemed to hear Bella's footsteps and turned around. Her eyes were wide open, in realisation of what she'd done.

Deeming it safe, Bellatrix ran to Narcissa, as Cissy collapsed into her sister's arms for the second time in two days, and burst into painful sobs.

"I didn't mean to, I didn't. She just made me so mad. I couldn't stop kicking."

Bella stroked Narcissa's hair as she looked down on the body. It was dark enough down the alley, that people passing by wouldn't notice the people standing down here.

Bella knew that it was too risky to transfigure the woman into anything, as the magic would be picked up. They needed to just go, right now. The woman would be found a few days later, no doubt by some upstanding member of the community, but regardless of the uproar, nothing would be done about it. Narcissa would be safe.

"Come on, Ciss, we need to get to the Leaky Cauldron."

Bella dragged Cissy out of the alley and down the street to the Leaky Cauldron. Bella sent her usual haughty glare at the bartender, and any patrons of the bar, as they walked towards the fireplace.

They were in no state to be Apparating, which was why they were going to Floo home.

Bellatrix opened her locket, pouring powder into her sister's outstretched hands. She watched Narcissa Floo out of the Leaky Cauldron, before Flooing back herself.

Bella found Narcissa standing next to the fireplace, waiting for her.

"Thanks Bell," Narcissa told her sister, with a tired smile. "You could have left me, but you didn't." Narcissa frowned, as if she couldn't understand why she did it. After all, Bellatrix wasn't exactly known for her good nature.

"It's blood, Ciss. I can't deny it. Of course I'm going to help you out. God, I'd even help out Andie if the situation called for it." Neither sister really agreed with their aunt blasting Andie off the tree. On the other hand, they didn't like what she'd done either.

In the end, it came down to blood. They were sisters, nothing would, or could, change that.

Bella put her sister to bed, and went to bed herself. She couldn't sleep though. Images of the woman's lifeless body kept flashing through her head. It wasn't the first body she'd seen, and it definitely wouldn't be the last. She just couldn't understand how her sweet, innocent sister could be sucked into the murderess world in which she lived. It was not a happy thought for Bellatrix to be faced with, but she was going to have to accept it.

Narcissa's innocence had gone forever.


	3. Lesson Three: Love

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to J K Rowling, and definitely not me.

A/N: The third and final instalment in Life's Lessons. And also the last fic I'm posting until the end of the month. When I come back, look forward to Lucius and Narcissa getting caught making out at Hogwarts, baby Draco and his incessant crying, Lucius in Azkaban, and Draco's wedding! Remember, reviews make me happy :) Let me know how I did with the whole murder plot.

**Life's Lessons – 1973  
Lesson Three: Love**

Narcissa's mind was still reeling from the enormity of what she'd done the previous night. She hadn't meant to kill her, but everything had just spun out of control.

After she'd fled the scene, she lost track of her sister. She just assumed that Bella had gone back to dispose of the body. She'd been far more in control than Narcissa could have ever dreamt of being. Bella scared her sometimes. She was so cold and ruthless, while Narcissa could only fake it.

Narcissa couldn't remember coming home. She didn't know what had happened, and she had no recollection of it, but she wasn't too worried, since she'd made it home, and was in her bed.

She would have to ask Bella what happened when she saw her next. A timid knock at her bedroom door caught her attention.

"Ciss? Are you awake?" came a male voice from the other side of the door.

Narcissa pulled herself out of bed, to answer the door. She wrapped her robe around her, before opening the door. She swung it open, to let Lucius in. She smiled at him softly. The smile dropped from her face, when she saw the look on his face.

"What?" she asked warily, wrapping her robe around herself tighter. She suddenly felt very self conscious.

"Your face," Lucius started, almost seeming lost for words. "What on earth happened?"

Narcissa eyes widened in horror. Her face. She'd totally forgotten about the fight last night.

"Oh dear, don't look at it," she said, hiding her face in her hands. She could only imagine what her face looked like this morning. She had the most awful image of a bloated, bruised face in her mind, and she did not want to confront reality at all.

"I got into a bit of a fight last night," she told Lucius, her voice muffled by her hands. "Bella and I were dancing with some boys, and apparently one of them had a girlfriend. She saw us dancing, and didn't like it. So she hit me."

She'd spat the events of the evening out so fast, she hadn't even time to think of the consequences of Lucius finding out.

"Where was this?" Lucius asked, hardly sounding like himself at all. To say that he was angry would be an understatement. He was absolutely livid. He couldn't believe Narcissa would do something as stupid as get into a fight at a wizarding club. Didn't she realise how this would reflect on him?

"Some muggle club in London," she replied timidly. She could tell how angry he was. She'd always been good at reading his emotions, but this was the first time she wasn't happy about it.

The relief that washed over Lucius in that one little sentence was immense. While he wasn't exactly happy about Narcissa visiting a muggle club, it was probably a good idea. Not many wizards did, so anonymity was a large incentive.

"Alright then," Lucius replied, letting out a big sigh. "Well, at least you're okay." He sat down on the bed next to her for a second, then stood right back up.

"I have something for you," he told her, reaching into his cloak. Narcissa perked up immediately. She loved presents. She wasn't forgetting that she was still mad at Lucius, but she was open to him bribing his way back into her bed.

He drew out what looked like a necklace. He held it out in his hand for her inspection. It was a necklace. A very big necklace, with an enormous sapphire attached. Narcissa had never seen such a huge gem before.

"Oh Lucius, it's beautiful, I love it," she gushed, her eyes not leaving the sapphire for a second.

"Apology accepted?" Lucius asked, sweeping Narcissa's hair away, so he could fasten it around her neck.

She nodded fervently, wrapping her arms around his neck. It was then that Lucius noticed the blood stained across her hands. Narcissa had totally forgotten about them too.

"Ciss? Were you bleeding?" he asked, taking her hands in his, rubbing the stains softly.

Narcissa couldn't help but hide her face in his chest. She mumbled something that Lucius couldn't hear.

"Say it again?"

"A woman died last night," Narcissa told him softly.

"Did you try and save her?" Lucius asked, just as softly.

Narcissa shook her head.

"I killed her," she told him, unable to meet his eyes. "It was the woman that punched me. I got so mad, and I punched her a few times. She fell to the ground, and" she paused, taking a deep breath, "I just couldn't stop kicking her."

Lucius wrapped his arms around her tightly. Narcissa was still seventeen. She shouldn't have had to deal with something like this. Lucius blamed himself. If they hadn't fought, she wouldn't have gone out last night.

"Has it been taken care of?" he asked, careful of his tone. He didn't want to upset her further.

"I think so. I think Bella did," she said, nodding her head slowly.

Lucius detached himself from her, kissing her forehead before he stood up.

"I'll make sure. You just rest," he told her, walking to the door, "I'll be back soon, okay?"

Narcissa nodded, lying back down. This was the most exhausting three days she'd ever experienced. She just wanted it to stop. Despite the trouble he'd caused in the past three days, she couldn't help but be grateful that Lucius was here. He got her through everything. He was her rock. She didn't think she'd be able to cope if he ever left her.

It wasn't always smooth sailing when they were together, but they were in love, and that's what counted, right?


End file.
